


Recompense

by curlyj76



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-09 22:56:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5558702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curlyj76/pseuds/curlyj76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What can you offer someone who seems to have lost a part of themselves?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sigh...seriously... my muse and Leia Organa will not leave me alone. I haven't decided if this is a one shot or not, there maybe another chapter on the horizon... but my muse is a very fickle thing. :/ I apologize for any and all errors, I have no beta and I'm tired. :)
> 
> Spoilers and theories about missing moments from the movie. Don't read if you don't want to know.

Rey sat staring at Finn as he lay unconscious in one of the Falcon’s bunks.

She still wasn’t sure she quite understood what had happened over the past hour. One minute she had watched as Han was cut down in front of her and heard Chewbacca’s roar of grief and anger… then there was Finn… and the lightsabers… the absolute desperation, panic and even more strangely, the all-encompassing calm.

Taking a deep breath and then slowly releasing it, Rey cocked her head to the side as she listened for the other occupant of the ship as he rummaged loudly through their medical supplies. Glancing back to the injured man next to her, she took time to reassure herself the he was indeed still breathing before reluctantly moving towards the room’s threshold.

The last place she wanted to be was in an angry wookie’s way.

Making her way back into the cockpit, Rey hesitantly came to a stop between the pilot and co-pilot seats. Taking in the all the various panels and the vast tunneled expanse of hyperspace surrounding the ship, she slowly lowered herself sideways in to the chair to her right.

She could still picture him sitting there. It wasn’t that hard to do. That seat seemed to fit him as soon as he had sat in it all those days ago.

 _Had it only been a couple of days?_ She asked herself. The affirmative answer that was returned was a realization that was shocking in and of itself.

A droid. A former storm trooper. A wookie and a hotshot smuggler come rebellion hero. These people, who she had never heard of before or she had thought of only as characters in a child’s fairytale, had come crashing into her life and completely uprooted everything she thought she had known. And as a result, had forced her to confront something within herself that she didn't want to acknowledge yet.

There was absolutely no way she could go back now, too much had happened for her ever to think that Jakku was where she should be. Too much had changed.

Sighing, Rey turned from the pilot’s chair, pulled her knees up to her chest and looked out of the front of the cockpit forlornly. But before long, a quite questioning rumble soon brought her attention back to her surroundings as Chewbacca slowly lowered himself into the unoccupied space next to her.

“I’m alright. How’s Finn?” She asked cautiously.

Responding with a confirmation of the man’s resilience and continued stability, Chewie began to prepare for the Falcon’s drop from hyperspace which in turn, prompted her in to action. Working away in silence, the ship eventually lurched back into real space, just outside the planetary orbit of the Resistance's home base.

Opening a comm. channel, Rey prepared herself to identify the Millennium Falcon’s signature and request medical assistance, but before she could speak an insistent male voice came over the speakers.

“Millennium Falcon please respond.”

Raising her eyebrows at the demand, Rey contemplated the urgency in the speaker’s voice, surprised by the fact that the base had been the first to initiate contact. 

“General Solo please respond.”

Swallowing hard. Rey uncomfortably shifted in her seat at the mention of the Han's name before looking to Chewbacca, who whirred his reassurance.

“I – I’m sorry. He – I – We –” Rey began, as she stumbled over her words.

“Please identify yourself.” The voice demanded quickly and sharply.

Startled, she blurted out, “I’m Rey, who are you?”

The awkward and strained silence that followed was disturbed by muffled commotion on either end of the channel. On Rey’s part, she let out an embarrassed moan as Chewbacca reached over to her and patted her hand.

“I’m sorry,” Rey apologized to Chewie before addressing the comm. panel again. “This is the Millen –“

“The Millennium Falcon, yes, I know.” A soft female voice interrupted her gently. “And you’re Rey.”

“I – Yes. I am.” She responded, glancing questioningly for a moment at the now perfectly still wookie beside her, before focusing on the ship's controls.

“This is General Organa,” At that statement, Rey’s eyes widened and she sent a panicked look to her left. “I take it from your presence on the comm. that General Solo is… not there?”

The pause that followed was filled with so much pained weight, Rey wasn’t sure if she could break it.

“No.” She finally responded, swallowing a lump in her throat. “He – He didn’t –”

The solemnly stated and resigned, “I see,” that interjected itself may have just broke Rey’s heart a little more than she thought was possible at that point.

“Did Chewbacca -”

A sorrowful, melodic sentence flowed from beside Rey before the General could even complete her thoughts.

As silence settled on the line, Rey concentrated on the blinking lights before her, realizing that Falcon was nearing the point they needed to start making landing preparations.

Clearing her throat, “Excuse me, General Organa? I’m sorry for interrupting, but my friend Finn, he’s been injured and –”

“Of course, I’m sorry Rey.” The woman said quickly, snapping back into command mode.

Taking a deep breath in relief, Rey listened as a muffled conversation took place on the other end line until General Organa’s voice came back over the speakers, “We will have a medical team standing by for you.”

Another a minute of muted confirmations could be heard from the General’s side before she addressed the Falcon’s cockpit again.

“Until you arrive, safe journey. My command team will coordinate your landing… and Chewie? If you could let the med team know what to expect?”

A growl of acknowledgement and another of questioning followed.

“Thank you,” the General said before following up with a softly spoken, “We’ll speak later.”

One ‘understood’ later and a flick of a switch, the Falcon found herself descending into silence again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exposition much? Sorry guys, this is what my muse came up with. lol

Leia Organa rubbed a weary hand over her eyes before turning from the console in front of her. She had no clue how long she been standing there, but she knew that they were already in to their third rotation of personnel since the operation had begun… and for good reason.

The First Order had made its first major offensive move and the results had been catastrophic, but they had struck back.

In the aftermath of the Starkiller’s destruction, the ensuing chaos had needed to be reined in. Resistance pilots and ships needed to be accounted for and fresh supplies accumulated for what was surely to become a prolonged battle.

“General Organa? We’ve received another communique from Senator Mothma.” A young woman to her left stated as she held out a flimplast.

Nodding, Leia took the sheet and tried to focus on the words in front of her.

The Senate, which had almost been decimated with the destruction of the Hosnian System, was operating under emergency status. Those few representatives who were not in the New Republic’s capital on Hosnian Prime at the time of the attack had been forced into hiding, while new senators were either being elected or promoted into positions their colleagues once held.

All this was, of course, occurring as the remainder of the New Republic’s fleet had started to gather together and former Alliance members had begun to reach out to various Resistance contacts across the galaxy.

“General?” A voice spoke quietly to her near her right shoulder. Turning her head slightly to the side in acknowledgment, Leia stubbornly tried to get her eyes to work for her. “Yes Major?”  


Unfortunately and to her exasperation, even after blinking repeatedly, the sentences still managed to appear as if they were a solid blurred block of print.

“Ma’am,” Feeling the other officer move closer to her, Leia turned to look at him directly, “Admiral Statura will be starting shift soon...”

She stared blankly back at him at the implied suggestion, lips pressed together in annoyance.

“Actually, the Admiral is here Major.” Sighing out loud, Leia did an about face, but before she could even speak the other man continued, “Go get some sleep General, we can handle everything here for a while.”  


Raising an eyebrow, Leia found herself crossing her arms and shifting her weight back onto her left leg.

Leaning forward, Statura whispered, “Don’t make me wake Ackbar up, you know how he gets when confronted with too little rest and officers who are too stubborn for their own good.”  


Leia could only roll her eyes, before forcefully handing the filmplast in her hand to the man in front of her.

“Fine. Give my regards to the Senator.”

The grimace that crossed the man’s face was almost worth the aggravation she felt at being forced to retreat from her place in the command center. Laying a reassuring hand on the Major’s arm, she nodded sharply to him and then the Admiral before turning and leaving, feeling both exhausted and restless.

Hesitating a moment outside of the room, Leia turned in the opposite direction she knew she should be going, unable to bring herself to leave behind the comforting buzz of activity surrounding her.

Hours before in an all too brief lull in the post-battle activities, Chewbacca had taken her aside to tell her what had happened to Han. And at this point, she had no great desire to confront the feelings she was bound to face once she was alone in her quarters. So she walked. She wandered, she avoided the areas where the people who knew her or Han were congregated and she reflected on how the galaxy had come to this point.

Nodding absently to the greetings she received from passing individuals, Leia desperately wished she could have said that she hadn’t seen it coming, but she would have be lying.  


After the signing of the Galactic Concordance, she and other former Alliance members had tried to advise caution and constant vigilance against the remaining members of the Empire. Their common enemy had certainly been dealt a blow, but they had not been completely defeated.

But, time and distance had slowly ate away at any incentive to maintain a close watch on the few core worlds where the shattered remnants of Emperor Palpatine’s once powerful government had been banished. The “People” were tired, one former political ally had told her. Their will and support to maintain a constant watch on a group of individuals who were no longer considered a threat was at an end.

Eventually, to many in the galaxy, Leia and her voice had been deemed a relic of the past. A senator to a world that no longer existed and a princess to a people who were scattered and too few in number to be of any concern.

In those intervening years, her change in status didn’t sway her from her goals: to provide a safe, stable and equitable life for her people, Alderaanian or otherwise, and the galaxy at large.  


That’s why when the first reports of a group calling itself the First Order began to reach her, she had known that dark side was gathering again.

Enlisting the help of a few close friends and contacts, she began filtering through all the general communications chatter of the New Republic and what they had found had been concerning. The Outer Rim worlds’ communications network had been turned into an alert system focused solely on reporting attacks, tech thefts and most disturbingly, abductions.

The planets that had been the initial victims were small, without means of financial, military or political support. And by the time Leia had been informed of the events, the First Order had become bolder. They’re attacks were gaining in brutality and frequency pushing their way on to worlds that were located further in to the known reaches of the galaxy.

She had returned to her senatorial robes and had sought out support for those directly affected by the Order’s movements. She had hoped that by sounding the alarm bells that the Senate would acknowledge the threat and take appropriate actions. Surely self-preservation, at the very least, would reign and effectively force their hands. But she had been wrong, all her efforts had for the most part come up empty. Most had stared at her with indifference, others annoyance, only a select few who were old friends or the children of old friends headed her warnings. She had spent months on end trying to lobby for support and all she had received in return was platitudes.

That is, until someone had decided to try and take her life.

After that point, after she had been shuttled back to safety, concern and offers of covert support began to pour in. Her friends would help, but only from a distance, and only if she were to lead the charge.

Sighing to herself, she shook her head is consternation, before realizing where her feet had led her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My muse abandoned me in a blob of mushy mother/daughter feels I tried to overcome. Hopefully I was moderately successful.
> 
> I also made minor changes and corrections to the other two chapters.

The distant bustle of the base personnel faded in and out of Rey’s consciousness as she once again sat next Finn, but this time she wasn’t filled with worry.  In fact, she wasn’t sure what she was feeling.  When she actually thought about it, she guessed she should probably be relieved, but all she felt was physically shattered. 

Looking away from Finn’s face, she allowed her eyes to roam aimlessly around the room, waiting for some indication of what she should do next.  

With the remnants of her adrenaline fading her whole body had begun to ache and her head… her head felt like it was going to explode.  Leaning an elbow on to the bed next to her, Rey closed her eyes and brought her hands up to rub her eyes and forehead.

Currently, the Falcon was being refueled and repaired courtesy of the Resistance.  Which of course meant the place she had assumed she would bunk down for the night was crawling with people and the sounds of welding tools and the clank of metal against metal. 

She had briefly thought about seeking out Chewbacca, but then had remembered the end of his conversation with the General and hadn’t wanted to intrude.  And quite honestly, despite her earlier encounters with the woman, she couldn’t say that she was entirely looking forward to their next meeting.  Not that the General was in any way at fault, but her presence had left Rey feeling… unsettled?  If that was even the right word for it. 

Inhaling slowly and then releasing a deep breath, Rey opened her eyes and grimaced at her train of thought. 

She didn’t know who she was trying to kid, it wasn’t the woman’s presence that was upsetting, not in the least.  She had felt comforted by her gaze and she had felt at home when the woman had embraced her.  In fact, she had felt more at home than she could ever remember being and it was those _feelings_ that were unnerving.

Pushing herself to her feet, she took to making circuits around the room in the hopes of walking off a sudden wave of agitation that washed over her.

Finn’s bed was the first thing to be lapped as she trailed her hand over its edges, then there was the instrument cart, the cabinets and counters that lined the walls, chairs, tables, even a trash compactor. Over and over in varied combinations, she made passes around the medcenter until voice a voice spoke, startling her out of her routine. 

“Hello Rey.”

Looking up and spinning quickly to her left, she found herself staring into the warm and amused eyes of Leia Organa.

“Uh, Hi.” Rey awkwardly returned, her eyes wide in surprise.

Leia couldn’t help the amused quirk of her mouth as she watched a light flush of red spread across the young woman’s cheeks.

“Lost?” She asked, twirling her hand in a circle motion to reference to the girl’s wandering path across the room.

“Oh! Uh, No.” Rey said quickly, slightly mortified that she had been seen, “I was – uh – just – you know – nervous energy. Needed to move around a bit.”

Nodding slowly in acknowledgment, Leia could feel her smile growing.

“Yes, well… I walking past when I saw you and I wanted to stop in to see how you were doing. Dr. Kalonia tells me Finn is recovering well.”

“Yes, that’s what she told to me too.” Rey responded, suddenly finding the fine lines of dirt streaked across her fingers fascinating. “I’m really happy to hear that. I – I was worried,” she whispered, lifting her head and moving back over to Finn’s bed.

Nervously she gently fingered the folds of the sheet draped over her friend’s body, “He came back for me. They all came back for me. No one has ever done that before.”

“They all _wanted_ to find you Rey, to make sure you were safe.” Leia replied.  A wavering sigh and a subtle swipe at an errant tear was the only response she received.

Suddenly, the solemn silence that had descended upon the pair was shattered by a loud crash from the hallway causing both women to jolt in shock.

“Ow!” Rey cried out faintly, pressing a hand to her forehead.

Groaning, she leaned against the bed next her with her eyes closed as she felt the other woman’s presence come near. Apparently the pain she had forgotten about during her conversation with the General had decided to roar back with a vengeance.

“Headache?”

Taking a few deep breaths and nodding almost imperceptibly, Rey sighed ruefully.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“I recognized the signs.” Came a gentle sarcastic reply, “You know, the shouting and grimacing.”

“I didn’t shout.” An amused hum was the woman’s response as she moved away.

Soon the thin sounding ting of a metal latch releasing reached Rey’s ears, followed by the opening of some kind of container whose contents rattled around inside.

“Here. Take these.”

Opening her eyes a fraction, Rey held out her hand to the General as two tiny blue pills dropped into her open palm. Looking up at the woman with a frown she waited for an explanation.

“It’s a simple analgesic that will help with the pain.” Noticing the girl’s hesitance Leia continued, “I grabbed a couple for myself too, but from a quick glance around, it doesn’t look like we’ve had time to stock water in here so that we can take them.”

Looking back to Rey with concern she continued, “We’ll have to head down to the mess to grab some, if you think you can make it? If not, you can walk back to your room and I can go grab a couple of bottles.”

“Room?”

“I – Yes. Room.” Letting the brief flare of irritation she felt at her own thoughtlessness go, Leia rested a closed fist on a counter next to her while she shook her head in tired resignation. “I’m sorry Rey. We set up quarters for you since the Falcon was going to be off-limits until repairs are completed.”

“Oh.” The girl responded as she ever so slightly swayed in place, exhaustion clearly beginning to win out over adrenaline.

“Come with me,” Leia said motioning to the girl to come stand beside her. “Let’s get you to your bunk, you look like you’re going to fall over at any moment.”

Shaking herself mentally, Rey nodded carefully and fell into step beside the General as she headed out into the hallway.


End file.
